Recent content by nsp135282

My own experience is that if you have less than a dozen hens, the rooster will ruin their plummage. I keep a rooster because I love to hear him crow. Other than that and the fact that they can be beautiful birds there is absolutely no reason to keep a rooster. Butch

I have encountered the same problem as everyone has. When I let my chickens free range they are happiest and lay more larger eggs. But they destroy all flower gardens and have a grand time spreading the mulch around my trees everywhere but where I want it and foxes can take a toll. I have...

I think the majority of comments I have read on right on target. Pellets are to be preferred for adult standard breeds. I have found that there is 40% less waste when using pellets. Chicks of course need mash and small birds need crumbles. If you want to feed one feed for a variety of birds...

It appears that this is a long running thread. Here's my opinion for what it is worth. The bloom as mentioned many times earlier, is a protective anti-bacterial coating secreted by the hen when laying the egg. If washed the egg has lost the bloom and thus is subject to contamination of...

I may have a simpler solution. Just walk a bit farther through grassy turf from the coop to the house or keep a flat of water outside the coop as a boot bath and step through it a few times after leaving the coop. Should clean your feet off quite well. I'm not sure why they should be all over...

The articles I have read that say it will not kill internal parasites in chickens refer to the fact that the DE is ground up in the gizzard and thus the sharp crystals that are supposed to kill the parasites are destroyed rendering them ineffective. If so, then it won't hurt the chickens so...

I have not read all of the posts to this topic and I'm not about to get into the philosophical issues. I believe the live trap is a necessary tool for anyone keeping chickens or any animals that native predators would find tasty. I have found the best way to kill the trapped animal is with...

I just finished reading some of the earlier posts. I had to laugh at some who cited the cost of chickens with no eggs yet. I figured it this way... I had twenty-five chicks ($$$)... lost three to predators while building the coop (more $$$$)... wound up with 11 roosters and 11 hens. I found...

As the folks have said... they will start when ready. I have 11 hens that started laying at about six months (five Buff Orpies, four Barred rocks and two Silver laced Wyandottes). At first it was just one or two eggs a day and they were small to be generous. Now I have been getting 9-11 eggs...